Air supported book stand

ABSTRACT

An air-supported book stand constructed of an inner and an outer layer of airtight sheet material comprising an inclined member ( 92 ), attached to a vertical member ( 94 ), attached to a base ( 96 ), attached to a shelf ( 98 ) against the lower front of inclined member ( 92 ), and containing air filled through a closeable air inlet ( 84 ). Books rest against inclined member ( 92 ) and shelf ( 98 ), or between inclined member ( 92 ) and shelf ( 98 ), as with paperback books, magazines, and portable electronic devices. The air-supported book stand is comfortably soft, versatile, simple to use, light and compact to fit in a book bag or purse.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to bookstands, specifically to an improvedproduct to hold and support books and other media for reading, writingand viewing.

2. Discussion of Prior Art

For many years, bookstands have been created to support the weight ofbooks and hold them at an incline to reduce eyestrain, neck pain andmuscular fatigue for the reader. Nearly all of these bookstands are madeof wood, sheet metal or hard plastic and are intended for use on atabletop. Hard materials cause them to be heavy, bulky, and expensive.They are uncomfortable and unstable in the viewer's lap, or on theirstomach when lying down. Many of these bookstands are not portable.

The book support in U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,435 to Roberts, 1976 Feb. 10,has sharp edges and corners that could mar the book or a table finish,and would be unstable and uncomfortable when used in the viewer's lap.The book holder in U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,946 to Pannu, 1995 Jan. 3, may beused by the reader in bed, but it is large, and difficult to move. Thereading stand in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,465 to Peltzer, 1998 Feb. 24, iscomplex, difficult to use and expensive to produce.

The collapsible book stands in U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,413 to Andersen, 1978Sep. 26, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,729 to Welch, 1998 Nov. 3, are hardedged and sharp. They are metal and are too heavy to be consideredportable. The collapsible book stand in U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,305 to Leeb,1995 May 9, is softer and may become compact and portable, but it onlytilts the top up. It does not raise the entire book to more fully easeneck strain.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my air-supported bookstand are:

-   -   (a) to provide a book stand that supports a range of book sizes,        from paperbacks to large heavy books to be viewed comfortably in        the readers lap or on a table for prolonged periods;    -   (b) to provide a book stand that need only be inflated to use,        and is extremely light and compact when deflated for portability        or storage;    -   (c) to provide a book stand that not only supports the book's        weight and tilts the page toward the reader's view, but also        raises the bottom of the book up off the lap or table to bring        the content closer to the reader's eyes;    -   (d) to provide a holder that will also accept other media for        reading, viewing or manipulating such as magazines, electronic        book readers, tablet PCs, notebook computers, portable DVD        players and some electronic games;    -   (e) to provide a book stand that is so inexpensive to produce        that anyone who could afford a book could likely purchase it;    -   (f) to provide a book stand that is so lightweight that when        reading is interrupted, it is easy to hold and carry the stand        with the book;    -   (g) to provide a book stand that won't mar the book or the        tabletop; and

Further objects and advantages are to hold large books open withoutobstruction of page turning. Because the surfaces upon which the bookrests are able to conform to the shape of the book, larger books do notspring closed and do not flop open to other sections as they would ifthe resting surface were completely flat. In addition, the bottom edgeof small paperbacks can be tucked into the shelf pocket enabling thebook holder to keep a small book open to a page without hands evenoutdoors in a breeze. Still further objects and advantages will becomeapparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front right corner of the stand wheninflated.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the left rear corner.

FIG. 3A is a top view of the main embodiment with flattening spans,deflated and before secondary welds AB and CD.

FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line 3B-3B of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a top view of the stand without flattening spans, and beforesecondary welds AB and CD.

FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line 4B-4B of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A is exploded view of the main embodiment with flattening spans.

FIG. 5B is an exploded view of the stand without flattening spans.

FIG. 6 is the stand with a large hardbound book.

FIG. 7 is the stand with a paperback book.

FIG. 8 is the stand with an open notebook computer.

FIG. 9 is the stand with a Tablet PC, or an electronic book (ebook)reader.

FIG. 10A is a front corner perspective view of another embodiment.

FIG. 10B is a right rear corner view of article in FIG. 10A.

FIG. 11A is FIG. 10A with internal flattening feature.

FIG. 11B is FIG. 10B with internal flattening feature.

FIG. 12 is an alternative embodiment of an air-supported book stand witha firm material on inclined surface.

FIG. 13 is another alternative embodiment with a firm material on boththe inclined surface and the base, and with an open hardbound bookoriented above for reference.

FIG. 14 is yet another embodiment combining firm and flexible materials.

FIG. 15 shows how the device in FIG. 14 can be self-inflating throughthe air inlet when the loose ends of the firm surfaces are urged apart.

FIG. 16 is a collapsed view of the device in FIG. 15 after the air issqueezed out.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

20 air-permeable front fold 22 air-permeable back fold 24 air-permeableupper fold 26 back outer surface 28 front outer surface 30 shelf outersurface 32 base outer surface 34 shelf inner surface 36 front innersurface 38 base inner surface 40 back inner surface 42 left verticalside seam 44 left inclined side seam 46 left base side seam 48 leftshelf side seam CD 50 right vertical side seam 52 right inclined sideseam 54 right base side seam 56 right shelf side seam AB 58 shelf endseam 60 inclined member end seam 62-76 circle welds 78-82 flatteningwelds 84 air inlet and plug 86-90 flattening spans 92 inclined member 94vertical member 96 base 98 shelf

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention an air-supported book stand inthe preferred mode comprises an inclined member, attached to a verticalmember, attached to a base, attached to a shelf against the lower frontof said inclined member, each composed of walls of airtight sheetmaterial, and containing air by way of a plugged air inlet.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A typical embodiment of my air-supported book stand is illustrated inFIGS. 1 & 2, showing that support strength and flatness may be achievedthrough contiguous surfaces and the air pressure contained therein. Thecircular welds reduce air volume in base 96, leaving the remainingmembers of the stand to bear the weight with stability. FIG. 4A showsthat all welds are in the same 2-dimensional plane, allowing all weldsbut left shelf side seam 48 and right shelf side seam 56 to beaccomplished automatically through the weld tooling. FIG. 3A has stillmore welds because of the inclusion of flattening spans 86-90. Thesespans are also shown in the section in FIG. 3B and in the exploded viewin FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6 shows how larger books may extend beyond the sides and top of thestand. Shelf 98 and inclined member 92 are not joined, except at rightshelf side seam 56 and left shelf side seam 48, to allow the bottom edgeof reading material and electronic devices to be wedged therein as inFIGS. 7-9.

FIGS. 10A & 10B show an alternative embodiment that may balloon toward aspherical shape. FIGS. 11A & 11B, and the descriptions of otheralternative embodiments, employ welded-in internal flattening features.Firm material shown in FIGS. 12-16 on the inclined and base surfacesreduce this ballooning tendency of inflatable products. These firmsurfaces with the flexible surfaces, if used together like a bellows,provide means for self-inflation of the book stand, as shown in FIGS.14-16.

CONCLUSIONS, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Accordingly, the air-supported book stand alleviates fatigue from theweight of the book, and also the weight of the reader's own hands andarms, which hold up the book. Unlike other products, my invention issoft and comfortable for lap use. Arms may rest in the lap, on the openpages of the book, or in the open void in the middle of the book stand,and if needed, thumbs may be used to hold the pages open. Furthermore,the air pillow aspect of my invention has the additional advantages that

-   -   It is space saving when deflated, and therefore easy to store        and portable.    -   It is simple to assemble, lightweight and inexpensive to        manufacture and purchase.    -   The air cushion broadly distributes the weight of the book and        the weight of the reader's hands and arms rather than        concentrating this weight down to three or four pressure points        that might mar a table finish or create discomfort in the        viewer's lap.    -   Front (28) and shelf (30 & 34) conform to the page bottoms and        open book cover thus alleviating some of the springiness that        might cause the book to close or flop open to another place.    -   All seams except left shelf side seam 48 and right shelf side        scam 56 are accomplished automatically through the weld tooling        because they are in the same 2-Dimensional plane.

An alternative embodiment is shown in FIGS. 10A & 10B. The quantity ofsheet material required for this version is diminished by almost half.Seam lengths are also decreased.

Another alternative embodiment, shown in FIGS. 11A & 11B, improves theflatness of the base and inclined surfaces of the previous embodimentthrough internally welded expansion restrictors.

Another alternative embodiment flattens the inclined and base surfacesthrough the use of harder material on these surfaces as in FIGS. 12-16.The manual separation of the free ends of these surfaces enables aself-inflating feature. Air is drawn in through a closeable air-inlet.Constraining these loose ends together deflates the product for compactstorage as in FIG. 16.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently referred embodiments ofthis invention. For example, the air-supported book stand may be ofdifferent angles, shapes or dimensions, or may enclose different volumesof air or a number of separate volumes; use other shapes instead ofcircles in the base, use firm materials in combination with flexiblematerials; and use simple welds instead of internal spans (known as“I-beams” in the inflatables industry) and spans instead of simplewelds.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

OPERATION OF INVENTION

Vertical member 94 supports inclined member 92. Inclined member 92 andshelf 98 together support the book. Base 96 keeps the lower portions ofshelf 98 and inclined member 92 at a fixed distance from the lowerportion of vertical member 94 so that the stand remains erect at apredetermined angle. Circle welds 62-76 are to restrict the aircontained in base 96 that would otherwise produce tabletop instability.Air inlet and plug 84, and airtight seams 42-60, serve to contain theair volume. The interruptions in the welds on folds 20-24 allow thestand to be filled from a single air inlet. Shelf 98 lifts largerhardbound books (FIG. 6), or in the case of smaller paperback books, maytrap the bottom edge if readers wish to do hands-free reading (FIG. 7).

When deflated, my book stand is in very thin and will fold for compactstorage or portability in a book bag. When deflation is not possible ordesirable, a user may simply put an arm through the middle of the standand keep both hands free for carrying other items.

Portable electronic devices can be held between shelf 98 and inclinedmember 92 thus lifting the display to a comfortable viewing height(FIGS. 8 & 9). While my stand does not offer a comfortable keyboardangle for notebook computers, some applications, games, and DVD viewingwill not be significantly hindered.

When seated without a table, tablet computer users are greatly aided inreading, writing and stylus control of applications when myair-supported stand is used in lap. The user is more upright, reducingparallax, eyestrain, neck, back, and arm fatigue, and the user can bemore engaged in the meeting.

Electronic book readers will use my stand much the same as do printedbook readers since they both involve mostly static viewing with theoccasional page advance or page turn.

1) An air-supported book stand, comprising an air enclosure of air-tightmaterial whereby books and other media may be propped closer to the viewof the user. 2) The air-supported book stand in claim 1, wherein thedevice comprises: (a) a broad inclined front member comprised of innerand outer surfaces, air-tight side welds, and a plurality of internalflatness maintaining welds that join said inner and outer front membersurfaces, (b) an upright back member comprised of inner and outersurfaces and air-tight side welds, (c) a base comprised of inner andouter surfaces, air-tight side welds and a plurality of internalflatness maintaining welds that join said inner and outer base surfaces,(d) a shorter front member, comprised of inner and outer surfaces,welded to the lower portion of said air-tight side welds of said broadinclined front member, (e) an air inlet and plug, and (f) a plurality ofair-permeable welds whereby folds occur between said members, base, andshelf, and whereby air from said inlet is permitted to pass throughout,whereby said book stand will support various sizes of hardbound books,with the book's cover resting against said broad inclined front member,and the book's bottom edge resting against said shorter front member,whereby said book stand will support paperback books, clipboards,magazines and other soft bound reading material held between saidinclined front member and said shorter front member, whereby said bookstand will support viewable electronic products such as portable DVDplayers, ebook readers, tablet PCs, open notebook computers, andelectronic game devices, providing holding means when lower front edgesof said products are wedged between said broad inclined front member andsaid shorter front member. 3) The air-supported book stand in claim 2further including a plurality of spans that join said inner and outerinclined front member surfaces. 4) The air-supported book stand in claim1, further including: (a) a sleeve of said air-tight material, (b) aplurality of capping surfaces of said material, each of predeterminedshapes, and seam-welded to said sleeve, enclosing a volume, (c) a fullwidth form protruding from the lower front of said sleeve, and (d) anair-inlet and plug. 5) The air-supported book stand in claim 4 furtherincluding a connecting piece welded in a plurality of locations on areasadjacent above, and adjacent below said full width form, wherebyflatness is achieved and a predetermined angle is held between saidareas. 6) The air supported book stand in claim 1 wherein comprises: (a)an inclined surface of firm material with a ledge whereupon a book mayrest, (b) a plurality of vertical side surfaces of flexible materialattached to said inclined firm material surface, (c) a base of saidflexible material attached to said vertical side surfaces, and (d) acloseable air inlet. 7) The air-supported book stand in claim 1 whereincomprises: (a) an inclined surface of firm material with a ledgewhereupon a book may rest, (b) a base of firm material whose front edgeis adjacent to the front edge of said inclined surface (c) a pluralityof vertical side surfaces of flexible material attached between saidinclined surface and said base, (d) a closeable air inlet, wherebyautomatic inflation through said closeable air inlet is achieved whenfree ends of said inclined surface and said base are urged apart, andsaid free ends are held together for deflation and storage.